Where do I even begin? I suppose I should start at the beginning. I met Jenny Lee at Burning Man in 1999 through a mutual friend, the always enchanting Burke Roberts. Burke directed and shot half of the music video for my song "Troubled Boy." He is an old dear friend of both Jenny and me. We both dated him at one point or another, but I digress. It was the middle of the afternoon when Burke approached me and said, “My friend Jenn needs a tampon.” And that’s how it started! I didn’t have a tampon, but I did have a pad. I escorted her to my tent and gave her what she needed, and from that day forward, we became friends.
Jenny is magical; there is no other way to describe her. She is genuinely kind, authentically herself, and incredibly creative. She’s one of those girls whom everyone falls in love with; you can’t help it. It is what it is.
.
One day, she called me—or maybe we were just talking—and asked if she could come over to my dad's studio, which I had mostly taken over for a while (and he wasn't very happy about it). She wanted to learn how to play the bass. Although I primarily play guitar and piano, I had dabbled with the bass quite a bit, especially since I was recording demos regularly and often played bass on them. So, I knew a few things. I replied, “Absolutely!” When she came over, I started teaching her the basics. Over time, we began recording songs together and had a blast doing it. Somewhere in a box of DAT tapes at my dad's house are those recordings, and I look forward to the day I find them!
Soon, she developed a desire to start a band. While I can’t provide exact details about how Warpaint began, I was present at the beginning. I remember attending a party at Shannon Sossamon's house, where I saw Theresa, Emily, and Jenn sitting in a circle, playing and singing together. It was a memorable sight. A few years later, Warpaint started to gain real momentum. I couldn’t be prouder of them. These women worked incredibly hard to get to where they are now. Each of them is deeply passionate about every detail of their music. They also have such unique styles and impeccable taste. I admire all of them greatly.
These days, Jenny has been immersing herself in painting. I adore her style. It completely represents her wild sense of what it looks like to be her. At least that is how I see it. One piece oozes calm and warmth, while another feels dark, wild, and unpredictable. Here are more than a few off her website Jenny Library
Jenny also takes commissions, so if that interests you, go to her website above!
When it was time for me to create a video for "SYSTEM BREAKER," I immediately thought of her. She was the first person to express how much she loved that song. I will never forget when I played it for her; I left her apartment for a few hours, and when I returned, she had been listening to the song on repeat. At that moment, I knew it was something special. Another reason I wanted her in the video is that in the past, Jenny and I used to go out dancing at least twice a week, enjoying hours of avant-garde movement on the dance floor. The truth is, clubs wanted us there because we brought the fun—it's just a fact! I wanted her energy to be a part of the video. When she asked, “What do you want me to do?” I replied, “Just be there, and we’ll figure it out together.”
That day was incredible. We arrived, and everything just fell into place. I had so much fun going through the footage and editing the video; there was a lot of laughter! Maybe one day I'll share some of the unused footage, but it will take me a while to sort through it all. If you have not seen the video for SYSTEM BREAKER, please check it out above!
Please join my good friend Jenny Lee and me on Tuesday, April 22nd, at 5 PM PST here on Substack! There will be a lot of laughter.💋
Share this post